Mike Vrabel Firing Opens Obvious Door To Reunion With Patriots

It's time to take the Mike Vrabel-Patriots rumors very seriously.

The Tennessee Titans on Tuesday fired Vrabel, who spent the last six seasons as the franchise's head coach. Vrabel instantly becomes one of the top candidates on the NFL coaching market.

"Earlier today, I spoke with Mike Vrabel and told him my decision to make a change at head coach," Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement. "I appreciate Mike's contributions to the Tennessee Titans both on and off the field. We wish Mike, Jen, and the Vrabel family nothing but the best in the future."

Vrabel's firing arrived amid immense speculation over the future of Bill Belichick, who as of Tuesday afternoon still was New England's head coach. It also arrived a day after Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz reported Vrabel would be interested in joining the Patriots, and two months after The Boston Globe's Ben Volin reported Vrabel is Robert Kraft's "home run" pick to replace Belichick.

If the Patriots decide to move on from Belichick, Vrabel would be an obvious choice for a successor. NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, one of the top NFL insiders in the business, immediately thought of a marriage between Vrabel and the Patriots.

Prior to Vrabel's firing, the general consensus was the Patriots only could hire him if they swung a trade with the Titans. But such a scenario seemed unlikely, making it difficult to put much thought toward Vrabel potentially joining New England.

But those restrictions now are gone. If Kraft wants Vrabel, he probably could have him -- so long as he's willing to part with the NFL legend who doesn't want to go anywhere.